Republicans Approve Health Care Bill After 17-Hour, Late-Night Committee Meeting

The House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for overseeing changes in tax law, approved the new Republican health care bill by a vote of 23-16 at 4:30 a.m. Thursday after 17 hours of deliberation. This part of the process, usually called "mark-up," is a chance for committees to weigh in on the bill and make changes they feel are necessary, but it did not alter the bill.

No Democrats on the committee supported the bill, while all the Republicans voted to approve it.

Many critics argue that the Republicans are pushing the bill too fast, especially since it hasn't been evaluated by the Congressional Budget Office.

"Trumpcare passed along party lines!" said Rep. Terri Sewell, an Alabama Democrat, in a tweet. "Irresponsible to vote w/o CBO cost estimate Pay more, get less! Gut Medicaid & Medicare! Bad!"

Republicans have frequently criticized the process Democrats used to pass Obamacare; as recently as Tuesday, Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady, chair of Ways and Means, bemoaned that the bill, which was crafted over 15 months, had been "written in the dark of night and rushed through Congress."

CNN detailed the late-night committee session the Republicans used to approve their new bill and included this vivid detail: "Around 8 p.m., the panel's chairman, Rep. Kevin Brady, leaned back in his chair and put in eye drops."

Read the full CNN story>>

Photo credit: Mark Fischer